With a tip of the hat to the legendary Joe Walsh, I believe that “The reader you are, the writer you get.” My professional career has taken me to Wall Street, Madison Avenue, Silicon Alley, Hollywood, Washington and the NYC sports and media scene. I dig into what is being said by newsmakers and the media on the “hot news” of the day and try to connect the dots. I am the editor of Proactive Advisor Magazine, the first magazine focused on active investment management. Click on “Follow” under the Author’s name or follow me on Twitter, David Wismer, @djwizmo

One World Trade Center: 'Tallest In The Western Hemisphere' (And Other Quotes Of The Week)

Wall Street celebrated another record all-time closing high for the S&P this week.

The 408-foot spire is hoisted onto a temporary platform on the top of One World Trade Center. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

And also honored the passing of legendary Barron’s columnist Alan Abelson.

So it seemed somehow fitting that the week was literally “capped” Friday by the completion of One World Trade Center’s final touch, with the “steel spire” installed, “raising the building’s height to a symbolic 1,776 feet.” (See photos here from NY Daily News).

Many news reports called One World Trade Center, also known as “Freedom Tower,” the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and third tallest in the world (surpassing in the U.S. the Willis Tower in Chicago which stands 1,451 feet, but well shy of the tallest in Dubai at over 2,700 feet).

HuffPost described the structure as “the focal point among the buildings designed to replace the fallen twin towers,” and captured the words of architect Daniel Libeskind from 2002, who envisioned the tower “restoring the spiritual peak of the city, creating an icon that speaks to our vitality in the face of danger and our optimism in the aftermath of tragedy.”

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg tweeted:

@MikeBloomberg Today 1 World Trade Center is the tallest building in the US, & #NYC is stronger than ever. #NeverForget

Financial journalism lost one of its leading lights Thursday when Alan Abelson died at the age of 87. Alan had served Barron’s as a writer, editor, and chief columnist for the past 57 years. For many readers, there can be no substitute for Alan’s witty, wise, and wonderfully written comments each week in ‘Up & Down Wall Street.’ Alan’s quest for truth and justice greatly enriched the traditions begun by Clarence Barron, who bought Dow Jones & Co. in 1902 and founded this magazine in 1921.

I shall miss him. And what I wouldn’t give to read his critique of wherever he is right now.

Yet another record-setting week for the markets started with many suffering from sugar-induced hangovers from last weekend’s Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting. Warren Buffett presided in fine style over the festivities, where many presumably overindulged on See’s Candies, Dilly Bars (Buffett’s Dairy Queen faves), and giant root beer floats (especially at Piccolo’s Restaurant–see the Visitor’s Guide)

The “Oracle of Omaha” was all over the media with interviews on Monday, as noted here on Forbes, and then on Tuesday, also as Forbes reported:

Buffett sat down with Levo League, a ‘community of professional women seeking advice, inspiration, and the tools needed to succeed,’ and fielded live questions from across the internet about everything from women in the workplace to his personal heroes. He encouraged them to ‘hang around with people who are better than you are,’ refine their communication skills, not to be afraid of failure and to ‘never give up searching for the job you’re passionate about.’

The aforementioned “sugar high” looked to be contagious, as equity markets once again rose this week to new all-time highs as even more global banks decided to “join the punchbowl party.” Central banks in Australia, South Korea, and even Vietnam all cut benchmark rates, although the Bank of England stayed pat, as expected.

But the really big news was the impact of “Abenomics” on Japan’s equity market and the yen, with the Nikkei “having its best week since 2009,” aided by Friday’s 3% rise and now trading +40.5% (!) in 2013 (CNNMoney). Japan’s monetary policies also led to the yen’s lowest level in four years versus the dollar. This came as the G-7 meeting commenced in London, where U.S. Treasury Secretary Lew warned Japan to “play by the rules” and said “the U.S. will keep an eye whether policies remain within the bounds of international agreements.”(CNBC)

U.S. and European markets chose to ignore some generally mixed China and European data and the ECB downgrades of 2013 and 2014 growth figures, focusing instead on: some surprisingly good numbers out of the German economy, dovish comments from Mario Draghi that “we are ready to act again if necessary,” global earnings releases, and virtually the lone major U.S. economic report, which showed “jobless claims unexpectedly falling to a five-year low.”(Bloomberg)

For the week, the Nasdaq Comp led all indices, +1.7%, with the S&P registering a 1.2% gain and the Dow +1.0% (closing above 15,000). CNBC threw out some interesting statistics, citing 17 straight up Tuesdays (accounting for the lion’s share of the year’s gains on that one day) and the longest streak for the Dow to open a year without three consecutive down days since 1958.

And for those who still suggest that the Fed’s actions are not the primary driver of the market rally, witness Thursday’s action. Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser had some hawkish comments, saying he “favors reducing the monthly $85 billion bondpurchases as early as the next Federal Open Market Committee in June.”(Bloomberg). And all sorts of rumors were flying around about a “blockbuster” WSJ Fed-watcher Jon Hilsenrath scoop.

These comments (and some other Fed-related rumors) led to a rapid (but short-lived) 12 point drop in the SPX and about 100 points in the Dow.

Hilsenrath’s WSJ article finally did appear Friday “conveniently after the market close” (Zero Hedge) and it will be interesting to see how markets react on Monday, if at all. Hilsenrath said in his lead:

Federal Reserve officials have mapped out a strategy for winding down an unprecedented $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program meant to spur the economy—an effort to preserve flexibility and manage highly unpredictable market expectations. Officials say they plan to reduce the amount of bonds they buy in careful and potentially halting steps, varying their purchases as their confidence about the job market and inflation evolves. The timing on when to start is still being debated.

David Einhorn and Jeff Gundlach were among those at the 2013 Ira Sohn Conference “presenting their top trade ideas.”Forbes reported that Gundlach “suggested shorting Chipotle,” saying among some also positive comments, “a gourmet burrito is an oxymoron.”

The SALT Conference kicked off in Las Vegas, where according to NY Magazine, host Anthony ‘The Mooch’ Scaramucci “threw a party by the pool at the Bellagio that would have put Jay Gatsby to shame.”

Forbes said billionaire hedge fund manager Phil Falcone is close to “a very sweet settlement” with the SEC, while also reporting on the latest twists in the Carl Icahn/Dell drama.

Of note, Icahn has gone right in Michael Dell’s face, calling the deal on the table “the great giveaway.” Other press reports have any deal involving Icahn spelling the end of Dell’s current role at the company he founded. (MarketWatch):

Icahn told CNBC Friday that ‘If our board is elected, Michael Dell will not be running the company.’

NJ Governor Chris Christie revealed that he had weight loss surgery in February and has “already lost thirty pounds.” (ABC News) The NY Post reported, a bit tongue-in-cheek, that Christie might have improved his Presidential prospects with the move, as Iowa Republican committeeman Jamie Johnson remarked, “Iowans appreciate good health, even though we eat a lot of pork and corn.”

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